Rainy Days
by la-hija-de-Dios
Summary: Ed and Al, tasked with house-sitting for the Hughes family, are creeped out when someone knocks on the door. When it turns out to be a feverish Roy soaked to the bone, what will they do? This is shameless Roy!whump with a (teensy) dash of (implied) Royai and live!Hughes! :D Also, I dedicate this story to Storyoflaughter and Dragonriderjedi. :3
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, there! This is a quick story I'm dedicating to StoryofLaughter and Dragonriderjedi. :3 I hope y'all enjoy this! By the way, I don't own FMA or any of the characters. I just like them and find great joy in putting them in hairy situations. By the was, this is not yaoi (or slash, depending on what you call it)._ Soli Deo gloria! _:D_

* * *

"Hey, Ed, do you mind watching the house for us?" Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes had been gushing about how he was taking his "adorable" daughter Elysia and his "gorgeous" wife Gracia out camping and needed someone to take care of his house. "It would only be for a day."

Edward Elric blinked. "Um, sure. Al and I are in town for the weekend, anyway."

"Great!" Hughes had figured the boys would not have to pay for a hotel room if they took care of his house. He grinned. "We'll be leaving this Friday at 5. Here's an extra house key. Thanks again! I'll take pictures to show you!" Hughes bit back a snicker at the boy's barely concealed groan.

* * *

Ed and Al settled into the house nicely. Al made a supper of soup for Ed. Shortly after 5:30, they heard knocking at the door. The brothers exchanged alarmed glances. They were only house-sitting for the Hughes family for the one night. What if the person outside the door was a thief or murderer? What if he would chase them around the house and destroy the furniture? While the two boys could certainly defend themselves against intruders, they did not want to ruin the house Hughes had let them occupy. They eventually decided to ignore their wariness and open the door. They were greatly surprised to see Colonel Roy Mustang leaning against the wall, drenched and shivering. His eyes, glazed with fever, did not sparkle with recognition at the sight of them. He did not even throw any short jokes at Ed. He simply breathed out, "Mind. . . if I—" before collapsing onto the pavement.

The action jolted the Elric brothers out of their confused stupor. They both tried to catch the man; however, both failed. With Mustang out cold on the Hughes's porch and torrential rainfall outside the comfort of the home, the Elrics knew they would be entertaining a guest for the night. Well, as the elder informed the younger, their guest seemed to need little entertainment.

Alphonse collected the limp colonel and laid him out on the couch by the fireplace. They set about making him comfortable. While Al lifted him up, Ed reached out his flesh hand to remove Roy's greatcoat. He recoiled his hand instantly upon touching the colonel's skin. "Al, he's freezing!"

"What do we do, brother?"

Ed paused and murmured, "We've got to get him out of the wet clothes or he'll catch a fever." He mentally added, _Which I'm pretty sure he already has._ He tried once more to strip the man of both his coat and military jacket. "Do we take off his shirt, too? I don't care what you say, but I refuse to take off his pants." He rubbed his aching arm port absently.

Al tugged off the colonel's black boots. "I'm not sure. Probably."

Ed rolled his eyes at the predicament into which Roy had gotten himself. "This is the one time you'll get sympathy from me, you idiot." Roy paid no mind and continued shivering. Water dripped off his hair onto the pillow Ed had placed there. Ed sighed and began to peel off the sodden white dress shirt.

Five minutes later had Roy Mustang lying on the couch, having not moved an inch. Thankfully, his shivering had ceased. His hair, still quite damp, fell into his eyes. He was covered in a thick (and now slightly soggy) blanket. He looked rough, his steady breathing and the marginal movement of his chest the only indication that he was alive.

"Of all the places, why'd Colonel Jerkface have to show up here?" Edward grumbled. He extended a finger and poked the cold, wet fabric covering an arm. Despite how violently he had executed the action, the colonel did not even stir.

"Brother, don't poke him so hard. Do you want him to wake up and attack you?" Alphonse sounded upset. In reality, his concern was a result of the colonel's lack of a reaction. "D—do you think he's dead?"

Ed shoved off the remark. "Of course he isn't. Why, his old age is supposed to kill him, not a little rain! Don't worry, Al." No matter what he said, Ed could not push away the twinge of fear for his superior officer's life. He looked to the chairs upon which they had hung Roy's water-saturated greatcoat, jacket, and dress shirt. The boots had not been moved from when Al had dropped them on the floor.

"Do we leave him on the couch all night?"

Ed glanced again at the colonel. "I guess not. Is Hughes's room clean enough for him to sleep in?" The boys had planned for Ed to sleep in the guest room. They had not even looked inside the other bedrooms.

Al brightened. "I'll check!" He seemed eager to leave, possibly so he would not have to see the helpless man unconscious on the couch.

"You dimwit!" Ed whisper-yelled. "Why'd you go and get yourself wet on a day like today? 'Oh, I'm Colonel Useless-in-the-Rain Mustang. Why not go for a walk today? It's the perfect _rainy_ day for it!' Only imbecilic morons willingly do things that stupid!" He crossed his arms. His cross words were tinged with a hint of worry.

Just then, Roy groaned. He rolled to his right side and sneezed.

"Colonel?" Edward was relieved, which surprised him.

Mustang's labored breathing slowed as he fell back into unconsciousness. His left arm fell off the couch.

The blond sighed and sat down on the edge of the couch. He stewed over the events of the evening, spewing out insults to the colonel's brain capacity. "Dolt. Ninny. Ignoramus. Simpleton. Blockhead. Peabrai—"

He was cut off by the entrance of his brother. "It's clean. Do you want me to move him there?"

Ed nodded. He took the blanket and wrung it out to make it dry. He then carefully doused the fire. Al picked up the flaccid form of the colonel and carried him to the master bedroom. Mouth slightly open, Roy's head lolled against the chilly armor. When he was placed in the bed, he started to tremble again. Al covered him with a thick, green comforter. He observed the still figure in the bed and then paused. "Brother?"

"Yeah, Al?" Ed's voice rang from the living room.

Al brushed Roy's bangs back from his forehead. "Could you come see this?" he called.

Ed strolled into the room. "What's up?" He stared at the bare forehead. "Is that a bump?"

"I think so. What if he's got a concussion."

Ed rolled his eyes. "People don't get concussions from falling onto porches."

"But what if he got hurt earlier?" Al fretted.

Ed poked the sizeable lump and noticed how Roy winced at the motion. "Well, if he does have one, then we have to wake him up every hour to make sure he doesn't go into a coma or something." Ed shook the man, ignoring the grumbling. "Hey, old man! Get up!"

Roy's eyelids fluttered. He mumbled something incoherent.

"I said wake up!" Ed slapped his face.

Al gasped, "Brother!"

Roy's brows furrowed. With a pained grunt, he opened his eyes. They surveyed the whole room yet saw nothing. When he finally blinked, some of the fog in his coal-black eyes cleared. "Huh? What am I—Ow!" he reached for his head.

"What's your name?" Ed's voice was calm.

Black eyes paused. "Roy Mustang, Colonel. My serial number is 16745298."

 _A serial number? Does he think he's still in the war?_ Ed mused. "What is the date?"

"It is the seventh day of the fifth month."

 _That's true._ "Where are you?"

Roy blinked. "M—Maes's room?"

Ed nodded and queried, "What happened to you?"

"I was walking home. I usually have Hawkeye drive me when it's raining." The _because of the affect rain has on me_ was implied. "This time, I told her I'd hitch a ride with—" he sneezed— "Havoc because she came into work sick. I told her to go to her apartment and get some rest. After work, I. . . greatly underestimated the weather report for rain this afternoon. I saw that I was closest to Maes's house."

Ed took in the knowledge. "Okay, who am I?"

Roy scrutinized him. "A—are you Maes?" His words were beginning to run together. "No, your hair is different. When did you dye your hair, Maes? Black looked good on you. Did Gracia not like it?" His eyes were growing mistier. "No matter what, you'll still never be as hot as I am." He laughed weakly at his joke.

Al piped up, "Colonel, he's not Hughes. He's my brother."

Mustang gazed into Al's soul-fire eyes. "Elysia, you've grown!" He chuckled, "Hughes, I'd have thought you would at least show your best friend a picture of your daughter all grown up!"

"B—but, Colonel. . ." Ed sputtered. "Are you okay? It's me—It's Ed and Al!"

Mustang's blank eyes regarded Ed with curiosity. There were two spots of color high on his cheeks, indicating a fever. "Ed? Hmm. . ." His eyelids drooped.

"Colonel?"

"'M tired. . ." His eyes closed all the way.

"No, wait! Stay awake!"


	2. Chapter 2

Maes Hughes stirred. He sat up, wondering what had woken him. "Huh," he murmured softly. He pulled on his glasses and gazed around the campsite. His elegant Gracia lay beside him, graceful as ever. Elysia, cute, little thing that she was, slept in a small tent beside theirs. "Oh, well. Whatever it was must not have been important." Still, he fingered one of his throwing knives. When he deemed the area fully safe, he reclined again.

"Maes?" his wife mumbled.

He rolled over to face her. "Yes, dear?"

"Why are you awake? You're not worrying again, are you?"

He smiled, heart leaping. His wife was every bit as intuitive as she was lovely! "Yes, but it's nothing. Now, let's get some sleep."

Gracia nuzzled his nose. "All right, my sweet."

* * *

Roy's dark eyes held pain and confusion in them. He stared at the golden eyes of the person who had awoken him. "W—what is it?" he slurred.

"Colonel, we've been over this several times."

Roy cocked his head slowly and blinked. "We have?"

"Yes. What is your name?"

Roy seemed to realize that he could not get out of this. "Roy Mustang, Colonel. My serial number is 16745298." He coughed.

As his brother tested Roy, Al reflected. This was the sixth time Ed had woken the colonel up. Each time, the man had retained no memory of the previous times. This fact spooked Alphonse to an extent. One funny thing was that Roy alternated between telling the same pun and asking for Hawkeye. Despite this, Al could see his brother was lagging. Ed had almost fallen asleep during the retelling of why Roy was out in the rain. "Brother, let me finish. You go to bed. I can tell you're tired."

As Al had expected, Ed snapped back, "No!"

"Will you at least let me ask the last question?"

Ed pondered this and then nodded. "Fine, Al," he yawned.

Alphonse turned to see that Roy had drifted to sleep. "We'll just continue it the next hour. Do you want to sleep until it's time to wake him up again?"

Ed stretched. "I guess so." He sat down in a chair by the bed. "Colonel Nincompoop owes me big for this."

"Aren't you going to sleep in the spare bed?"

Ed shook his head. "No, I don't want you to be alone."

"But I'm—"

Ed glared at him. "Can it, Al." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened one eye. "Sorry."

"You're okay, brother. I know you get more irritable on rainy days. You must be in pain."

Ed grimaced and rubbed his leg port. "Yeah. Well, good night."

"Good night, brother!"

Al never woke Ed to check on the colonel. His brother should not stay awake any longer. He continued to periodically assess Roy's concussion. During the night, the man's stomach was emptied of its contents at least twice. Al mopped the colonel's sweaty face in hopes of cooling him down. Shortly after 2 in the morning, Roy fell into a (mostly) peaceful sleep. His fever was still there but did not seem as controlling as before. Al was loathe to wake him, knowing that the man needed his rest. Al stared at his brother. Ed looked to be in an uncomfortable position. _Surely Brother would want to sleep better._ Al picked him up gently. _Well, he wanted to stay with me . . ._ Al placed him on the other side of the bed. Hughes had purchased a bed so big and soft that Alphonse could have lain down on there and still not touched Roy.

At 8:05, Alphonse left to clean the living room. He had to make the house presentable to the Hugheses. He straightened the furniture, folded Roy's clothes, cleaned off the boots, and made sure the room was dusted. He walked back into the room and sat down. He ignored Roy's nonsensical mumblings and looked at Ed. Since the two brothers had figured out that Ed was taking nourishment into his body for both of them, he had tried to ensure Ed got the even more sleep and food. Al laid a damp handkerchief on Roy's head again. He just had to act like the older brother sometimes.

* * *

Noting the pouring rain, Hughes unlocked the door to his house. Gracia had remembered that Elysia had been invited to a birthday party that morning. They would come back to the house later. As he walked in, he noticed with relief that the furniture was still intact. He grinned and hollered, "Honey, I'm home!" just to see what reaction he'd get. Alphonse entered from the master bedroom.

"Uh. . . Hi, Mr. Hughes!" He seemed nervous. Al proceeded to tell him everything that had occurred in the Hughes' family absence. He ended it with "And Colonel Mustang's fever broke an hour ago."

Hughes was somewhat taken aback. "Really? Well, Roy always has had a bit of a sensitivity toward rain. He gets sick in it easily." He followed Al to the bedroom. What he saw there made him smile. Edward was curled up in the bed with his head on Roy's blanket-covered shoulder. Roy's head, in return, had fallen onto Ed's own. Both breathed deeply, fast asleep. A tawny tabby cat Alphonse had saved within the last hour was curled up between them, purring softly. "If that doesn't beat all. . . Let's let them sleep, Al. I'll tell you all about my camping trip! Did you know both of my dearhearts caught fish? Gracia couldn't stand to catch more than one and let me do the rest." He led Alphonse away. He had enjoyed himself immensely. Still, he exaggerated his motions and words to distract the younger Elric. Roy was always a grump after a bout in the rain. He needed to sleep as much as possible.

* * *

Roy felt like he was floating. He had been in this state of nothingness forever and yet for only seconds. Sometimes, pain would wash over him or a soggy chilliness would come and leave him completely exhausted. Once or twice, he felt as though he were being burned by his own flames. He could not help but cry out and hope they would be extinguished. During those times, the guilt from Ishval would stab him. Every so often, Maes, Elysia, or Riza would appear. He called to them, yet they never answered. He vaguely wondered where Gracia was in all this. This dream, if it was one, eventually faded into another dream. This one was peaceful and gentle. He was in a field near Riza's house, training as Berthold Hawkeye's apprentice. He caught glances of a shy girl with short blonde hair and grinned. Riza sure was a sight to behold!

He awoke suddenly. He was in a familiar room. _Maes? Did I visit him and fall asleep on his couch while we were talking?_ He frowned. He did not remember that. A soft sound drew his attention to beside him. _Snores?_ Edward Elric lazed on the bed beside him, mouth gaping. His head was on Roy's shoulder. _Fullmetal? Was Fullmetal visiting the Hugheses last night, too? That's odd._ Roy regarded the events with a detached sort of wrongness. His mind tried to figure out what, exactly, was wrong. He blinked slowly. A small cat climbed up on his chest and began to knead him. "Ouch!" Roy jerked and swatted the cat away.

The movement woke Edward. "What did you do that for?" he growled semi-coherently. "I was trying to. . . Oh." Ed blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know! What are _you_ doing here?" Roy was beyond confused.

Ed seemed to consider that. "I'm not sure." He stood and walked to the door. His memories hit him. "Don't wander around in the rain again. By the way, you snore." With that, he left the room.

Roy sat there, trying to comprehend everything. _What do I last remember? I was walking home. . . in the rain. . ._ When Roy walked into the living room nursing an inexplicable headache, he saw Maes sitting on the couch. Ed was nowhere to be seen. "Maes, what happened? Did I get sick from the rain? Did you take care of me?"

"Me? No. I was camping with my girls. The Elrics took care of you." Maes held back a laugh at Roy's expression. It was half-confused and half-disbelief.

Roy managed to get out the word "What?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you all about it."

Roy could not believe his ears. The next time he saw Ed and Al, he watched them for any odd behavior. While he could not detect any, he decided he had to thank them. Thanking them outright was not his style. He preferred to work in the background when it came to things like that. The next mission he gave them was at least a day's ride by train so Ed would get rest. He made sure it involved a man who knew someone that knew someone that had heard of a Philosopher's Stone once. This way, the mission should not have so many risks. And if Ed looked a lot more feisty when he gave his report, Roy just laughed and made a quip about how short on time Ed was running. During Ed's rant, Roy caught Alphonse's eyes and winked.


End file.
